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Experimental displacement of longnose dace, Rhinichthys cataractae (Actinopterygii, Cyprinidae), reveals rapid fish avoidance of a stormwater drain in an urban watershed

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Abstract

Land-use change associated with human development can alter aquatic habitat and imperil aquatic species. Fish are challenged when urban streams are altered, for example for stormwater conveyance, but little is known about how such activities influence the space use of individual fish. Electronic tagging and experimental displacement of fish can be used to explore site fidelity and homing behaviour of fish and can therefore be useful for testing hypotheses about space use and habitat selection. In this study, we used experimental displacement to determine how longnose dace (LND, Rhinichthys cataractae) utilize reaches within a watershed that have varying degrees of degradation. LND were tagged using passive integrated transponders (PIT tags), transported upstream, and released either into the natural stream reach, impaired stormwater drain reach, or at their confluence. Fixed PIT antennas were used to monitor movement of the PIT-tagged fish among the three reaches for a period of 3 weeks. LND exhibited dramatic and rapid selection against the stormwater drain. No LND moved into the drain and 97% of fish transported to the drain left within 24 h. LND were actively avoiding the stormwater drain, emphasizing the need for enhancement work to improve the biological connectivity of the system.

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Acknowledgments

We thank K. Stamplecoskie for helping develop and install the telemetry arrays. In addition, we thank M. Cvetkovic, C. DellePalme, A. Da Silva, and A. Wilson for assistance in the field. We also thank E. Katic and B. Chakraburtty for continued support. Funding for this project came from a Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant and Research Tools and Infrastructure Grant to Cooke as well as generous support from the National Capital Commission Greenbelt program. Cooke is further supported by the Canada Research Chairs Program. Lennox is supported by an NSERC graduate scholarship. Data were collected in accordance with the guidelines of the Canadian Council on Animal Care administered by the Carleton University Animal Care Committee (B10-12).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Institute of Environmental Science and Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, K4P 0A5, Canada

    Christine Crawford, Jonathan D. Midwood, Robert J. Lennox, Shireen M. Bliss, Cassia B. Belanger & Steven J. Cooke

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  1. Christine Crawford
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  2. Jonathan D. Midwood
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  3. Robert J. Lennox
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  4. Shireen M. Bliss
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  5. Cassia B. Belanger
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  6. Steven J. Cooke
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Correspondence to Jonathan D. Midwood.

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Handling editor: M. Power

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Crawford, C., Midwood, J.D., Lennox, R.J. et al. Experimental displacement of longnose dace, Rhinichthys cataractae (Actinopterygii, Cyprinidae), reveals rapid fish avoidance of a stormwater drain in an urban watershed. Hydrobiologia 767, 197–206 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2499-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2499-3

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